Sailing Tips 2.1. Upper Sea of Cortez traveling South + East from Puerto Refugio to Bahía Kino + Ísla San Esteban NOV/DEC 2016
We left Puerto Penasco for Puerto Refugio, a passage of 106 nmiles, an overnighter, big sea with about 6-8 foot waves in 10-15 kn of NW winds for the first 8 hours.
Puerto Refugio
We were here before in south west wind and had anchored in the east bay. During north west winds we thought that the most western bay of the east bay would provide shelter but the waves rolled right in around the northern islet of the bay. We re anchored in the east bay at 30′ and had a great stay for a night until the winds shifted W to SW and rolled right into the east bay. We went back to the east bay to the middle bay this time and re anchored there and had enough protection. We went ashore to a chocolate pebbled beach with lovely tide pools, but didn’t hike the interior. We heard that the island is governed by feral cats but didn’t see any, only lots of animal carcasses on the beach.
No cell service.
Got bit by noseums, both in July and November. My husband and all 4 of our cruising buddies didnt!
Saw a couple of explorer bees but nothing like the swarms in July.
Bahía La Gringa
We arrived with N winds and the bay gave great protection from the swell for a couple of nights. The winds blew for a day before lightening up enough to go ashore. We walked the long beach which goes from La Gringa all the way south to Bahía de los Angeles, saw egrets and ….
No noseums, no bees, both in July and November.
No cell service.
Bahía de los Ángeles
Good protection from northern winds and swell. We had an elefantes like the last time we were here in July. Elefantes form when on on Pacific side of the peninsula storms hitting the shore and get funneled by the mountains onto the Sea of Cortez. These storms are highly localized and dissipate several miles off shore and north or south. Bahía La Mona might not have an elefantes or Puerto Don Juan always provides shelter even in high N winds.
Wifi can be found at all restaurants, but no cell service. No bank, nor ATM.
No noseums, no bees, both in July and November.
Several tiendas with good selection along the main road, depending on when they get their food deliveries, best for us was ‘La Isla’.
For fishing tours contact Guillermo’s son Igor Galvan Jimenez on his facebook account or through the restaurant/motel. Grandson Ivan Igor Galvan Beltran is deckhand on his fathers fishing boat and sever at Guillermos in the afternoons.
Puerto Don Juan
Only hurricane shelter in the region, best shelter from winds from all directions. In N winds the swell enters the bay a little bit and best to anchor next to the first elbow, north of the beach window and away from the dead end. It’s a toss up between wind and swell and we opted for in-between. We anchored there in 30′.
In S winds best to tuck all the way in. Several rock shown on Navionics off the north hill, the anchorage is deep there at 45′.
Beware of 7′ tides and anchor well off the shore. Inlet and beach front nearly empty out at low tide, we dragged our dinghy out for about 100′!
Good spot to clean the boat’s bottom.
Good hiking inland.
No cell service.
No bees, no noseums, but we were there in November.
We stayed several days to wait for a weather window to cross to Ísla Salsipuedes and then further Ísla Tiburon.
Ísla Salsipuedes
Several anchorages around the island for different winds and swells.
We anchored at the south anchorage because of northern winds, but swells from the north west entered the bay anyway. Would have been better to anchor at South Slot, as it goes further in. South and North slot meet at a narrow shared beach.
There is a dangerous rock 3′ under the water at 0 tide at the entrance of the bay, right in the middle, coordinates are in Navionics and Shawn&Heather’s book. If you stay away from the center and enter closer to either shore, you will be fine.
Great caves and rocks along the shore, must be great for diving or snorkeling, for us the water was too cold in early December.
Fun hike around the beaches and inland.
No noseums, no bees, but we were there in November.
The passage between Ísla Salsipuedes and Ísla las Animas is less than safe, If you go within 150 yards of the shore of Ísla las Animas it should be alright according to Cunningham (pix below) but we chickened out and went around.
Bahía de Las Cruces/ Ísla Tiburon
Very long beach and large anchorage behind a large rock formation.
Be aware of a reef in the middle of the bay near the shore and visible at low tide.
Protected from northern winds, but open to the south.
Long shelf of 35′ – 17′.
There is a chapel of some sort in the southern rock formation. Didn’t go ashore, because we will get our permit in Kino.
Fishing shag on the beach with many pangas when we passed by to Bahía Monumento.
Beautiful beaches. Permit to land must be taken from Kino village.
Passage from Bahia Las Cruces to Bahia Monumento
There are several rocks along the shore and the islands, all are very well documented on Navionics. Be sure to check out all marks before making your route. Shawn&Heather describe a lessening of depth in the channel, which we experienced also, from 54′ at either side down to 27′ in the middle. We stayed about 150′ feet off the shore and experienced strong currents.
Bahía Monumento/ Ísla Tiburon
Very large anchorage.
Protected well from NW winds and swell, but open to the south.
Very large anchoring shelves from 35′ to 17′ stretching out long, nearly to the beach.
No noseums, saw a couple of explorer bees but no swarm, but we were there in November.
Beautiful long beach. Permit to land must be taken from Kino village.
Bahía de los Perros/ Ísla Tiburon
Smalli anchorage for about 3-4 boats with protection from west and south winds and swell, but little wind or wave protection from north even close to the beach at 15′ depth.
We had NW winds and opted to go back to Bahía Monumento, where it was windy but pleasant without much swell.
Cell phone service all the way from Bahía Kino across the bay.
Beautiful beaches. Permit to land must be taken from Kino village.
Bahía Kino
Very large open bay. Ísla Alcatras (Pelicano) can provide shelter. An about 4 mile stretch west of the island is about 20′ deep, eyes glued to the depth sounder, we approached slowly. There must be sand shifting on the ocean floor, because the depth is not constant varying from 17′-30′. We went on the north side of the island as we were expecting southern winds. We continued inching towards Kino Beach, slowly, expecting shallows to appear suddenly, which didn’t happen. We ended up anchoring near the furthest eastern point of the island in 18′ at 0 tide. We hailed the Club Deportivo, who are monitoring VHF channel 11 + 16, for the tide table available also online (link here). They also run a emergency service for boats called Rescue One. kinobayclubdeportivo.com
Cell service in the bay, at Ísla Alcatraz (Pelicano) and in town.
We found an internet store two blocks inland off the fishing pier and at Restaurant de las Brisas on the beach south of the RV park.
Long dinghy ride to shore, about 1 mile, shallow waters extend far into the sea. The water drops off right off the beach, watch for the break to find a shallow landing.
We took a panga to Old Kino and back, which was expensive at 1.000 pesos round trip. Be advised to negotiate the price before stepping into a panga.
We took also the dinghy ashore, no boat ramps nor pier, we just beached it and moved it up the beach. There is a fishing pier at Old Kino.
Franco supermarket seems to be the only one in town. Well stocked on staples, some fruits and vegetables and about a ten minute walk inland from the fishing pier.
We had a great lunch of ceviche and tacos at Mariscas next to the light tower at the fishing pier. A local American suggested the restaurant next door for pork tacos. Next day lunch was at Costa Azul, good too and Popeyes across the street has great seafood
Club Deportivo’s website has maps and recommendations for Old and New Kino.
No taxis ashore, but a bus connects Kino Viejo and Kino Nuevo and leaves at the intersection near Franks grocery store, which is about 5 blocks down the street from the fishing pier on the hour every our. From Kino Nuevo it leaves across the Oxxo, near the Seri museum, again on the hour.
New Kino has a small Seri museum explaining their culture and traditions in fluent Spanish, no english, but it is worth it even if you don’t understand every detail. Open Wednesday to Sunday, best to call ahead. LinK
We hitchhiked easily between the two Kinos without any wait times. Both times we were picked up by very friendly Gringos.
One of them, Glen, stayed at the RV Park in Old Kino and invited us for 4 o’clock tea. Great people, very good local info and up for adventure. Several of them drove with us up to the Seri village Punta Chueca, 45 minute very scenic drive, which is an interesting village of true artisans of wood carvers, basket weavers and they make beautiful jewelry made of shells. There is a artisans store in the village worth a visit, same prices as in the street. If you park your car and wait five minutes, Seri women will come with bags of their goods to you. Stay a while and look not too intered and they dig for the good stuff. Very inexpensive, bring lots of 50 pesos bills, this is one of the main income for the village. They also asked for warm clothes, donate some if you have extra.
Best bread in Bahía Kino is baked by a french RV resident near the office with a Frenchie Rd sign on a white picket fence. They bake only during the winter months and only on Wednesdays, be there around 8 am, as they mostly sell pre-orders and bake few extras.
Ísla San Esteban
We anchored at the only bay with a beach and shore access which is on the east side of the island.
Wind protection from the WNW, but some wind gets funneled down the valley into the bay. Swell protection from S and NW, but not from N and E.
Our chart plotter map didn’t describe the bay, where it is and showed land instead, nor the submerged rock in the middle of the bay nor the reef surrounding the spit. Navionics didn’t show the rock either and the spit showed like an island. Be sure to consult Shawn&Heathers cruising guide or Navionics for the exact location of the rock. If you come in closer to the spit, you will miss it, but be sure to leave enough room for the submerged reef surrounding the spit.
Make sure not to go much further north from the submerged big rock, as there are more submerged rocks closer to the second, small beach.
The bay is big enough for 4-5 boats (we like a lot of swinging room).
We could only find a rock bottom with few sand patches between the rocks. One of us stayed on the boat to keep anchor watch, a dive to the anchor would be best, just not in cold December currents. Large shelf of 20′-12′.
Rock beach.
No cell service.
Some bees looking for fresh water, even in December.
I suspect Noseeums in summer.
Great, easy hike up the wash in the mid-island valley or more strenuous ones up the hills. Plenty of gigantic organ cacti and other Sonata desert plants. Vivid wildlife on the island: a chuckwalla, a lizard and a rattle snake are endemic to this island.
The cruising guides describe a marginal anchorage on the south west end of the island for northern winds, where we didn’t anchor.
Please note that different weather conditions make a big difference for anchorages. Also there is personal preference. This is what worked for us.
We traveled here in December of 2016.